Displaying miniature dollhouses, roomboxes and dioramas
This page is about how you show off your prize miniature collections in your home. Also how do you keep your minis clean? Free of dust?
Do you sell your minis at fairs or miniature conventions? also see mailing minis
Also see craft rooms for how to organize your supplies
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Links to miniature projects
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- photo albums, blog posts, webpages
Bookcase Dollhouse - by Clementine O
Bathroom Shelf unit - from 1 Inch Minis, with instructions
Display Cabinet - by Wanna in El Paso
Display Carousel - by Gale Evans
Displaying Minis - by Maureen Heuchert in Stalbert minis blog
Hallway Chairs - from Alice Zinn
Mary's Dollhouse - by Mary Payne
Miniatures in my House - by Alice Zinn
Modular House - by Marie Gattis
My Bedside Lamp - by Alice Zinn
One Thing Leads to Another - from Casey's Minis
Vintage Fibreboard and Tin Dollhouses - by Amy Hoey
World Of Miniatures - display ideas
Blogs
- Blogs concentrating on displaying miniatures or categories/labels about it in blogs
Groups
- Discussion groups, forums (or forum categories) and photo groups dedicated to displaying miniatures.
Supplies for sale
- Supplies needed for displaying miniatures.
Althor products - various boxes
Domes, Plastic and Glass - from Alpha Stamps
Glass Display Domes - from Miles Kimball. If you sign up for their sales alerts you can sometimes get free shipping and/or 10-20% off.
Fetpak - wholesale packaging for jewelry, but useful for minis
HobbyLobby and Michaels - have a good selection of acrylic display cases for minis. Ask for display cases for golf ball, baseball, football, and basketball. Their fancier wooden and glass display cases for football and basketball could be used for 1" minis. Use their 40% coupons or look for their frequent 50% off
sales on display cases.
Trade Show Displays - cardboard risers which fold flat
Uline - shipping boxes and packaging
Miniatures for sale
- Do you have a section for displaying miniatures in your shop? Add a direct link to that item here.
Books
- Books about miniature display projects (also books with chapters about them)
Instructions for miniatures
Links
- links to sites showing how to make items related to displaying miniatures
Acrylic Cover - by the China Doll.
Videos
- YouTube videos about miniature projects related to this subject
Research/ Inspiration
Flat Packaging of Trims - from About.com
Maximizing sales at a Show - from About.com
Packaging your Miniature Products Effectively - from About.com
Tips/Hints
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Remove scratches from Plexiglass, plexiglass polish. Be careful when using the scratch removers as you can make them worse. The rule of thumb is if the scratch is deep enough to catch your fingernail in, it's too deep to fully remove. I would start with the polish that has the red label along with a very soft, clean cotton cloth and use just a little polish on the cloth. Use smal circular motions and let the polish dry and turn "whiteish", then wipe it off with another clean cotton cloth. If this works, then clean it with the Novus cleaner with the blue label. Use the polish with the green label if you are experienced using it as it is very abrasive. If you attempt it using the green label, you will need to then go back over it with the red label and then the cleaner.
Dust Covers
- use acrylic sheets from a home improvement store, cut them to size with a plastic scoring tool and attach the four vertical corners to that clear acrylic "L" shaped molding used to protect the corners of wallpapered walls. The top piece just sits on top of the four walls. Another idea to fasten the sheets is to drill holes for tiny magnets in the walls, as well as in the sheets. So the acrylic is removable.
- look for sports display boxes at Michaels.
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aquariums turned upside down.
Display Units
- In your local furniture or antique store, look for Barrister bookcases.Each shelf unit has a glass cover.
- A friend of mine has a wonderful set of display units in her hallway. She cut the drywall ( wallboard) out between two studs and built a box with glass shelves to fit in the wall cavity. They can be wired for interior lighting but several have mirrored backs and don't really need lights. A hinged frame with glass was attached to the wall and covers the shelving. With a standard wall that is 4-5" deep, they are perfect for 1:48 scale displays or small collections. They don't take a great deal of carpentry skill and can be put in any interior wall. Just make sure there is no electrical wiring in the area that you want to cut out the wall board. (If a larger space is needed, consider punching out some room in a cupboard or closet)
Ideas about what is needed for these projects
- links to inspiring pages
- ideas for shop names
- YouTube videos about the subject
Hits since 9 Oct 2009:
